Justice Book Club Sparks Discussion on Mass Incarceration
The Justice Collaboratory (JC) at Yale Law School and The Law & Racial Justice Center (RJC) partnered in the fall to launch their first-ever Justice Book Club with the goal of sparking thoughtful ideas and conversation — a fundamental step toward meaningful change, according to the organizers. The centers organized volunteer facilitators from across Connecticut who in turn formed 11 reading groups, comprising more than 80 people.
Participants read sections of “Dismantling Mass Incarceration: A Handbook for Change,” a book of essays co-edited by J. Skelly Wright Professor of Law James Forman Jr. ’92, founder of the RJC and a JC member. Reading group members agreed to read a section of the book and come together for dinner and discussion.
The Justice Book Club event was held on Oct. 23 at the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale. Participants included justice-impacted individuals, victims’ rights advocates, social workers, local high school teachers, college and high school students, prosecutors, public defenders, clergy, public administrators, former corrections officers, and health care workers.
Contributors to the book were also in attendance, including Forman; Raj Jayadev, co-founder of Silicon Valley De-Bug and author of the just released “Protect Your People;” and Senior Research Scholar in Law Emily Bazelon ’00, a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine and co-host of the Slate podcast Political Gabfest.
Readers had the opportunity to ask questions of the authors, and attendees continued their conversations well beyond the scheduled end. One book club facilitator said that his entire group walked away not only more informed but deeply moved.
Forman remarked on the energy in the room: “Wow, I’ve done hundreds of book events, but none like that!”
The success of the book club discussion format could be a model for future community engagement and mobilization around critical justice issues, according to the organizers.
